Best Of

Out now under the NCS record label is a killer bass track. Spce CadeX is reaching out from their deep space mission to transmit some new frequencies. Collaborating with another masked duo, ‘Holding You’ by Spce CadeX x Unknown Brain (ft. Max Landry) is a perfectly woven tapestry of sound. Spce CadeX is fresh off

Dancing Astronaut’s Top Festival Vibes of 2017

Each year, thousands of individuals indulge in an ever-expanding menu of festivals, and are in turn satiated by the five-star production prowess only a well-oiled machine could pull off. This list celebrates the unparalleled destinations. The selected festivals were not only the strongest standouts in their attention to detail, each went above and beyond in artistic and experiential curation; honing in on the role of their setting and, in turn, oozing unparalleled vibes from each and every fiber of their existence. These are Dancing Astronaut’s top eight festival vibes of 2017. Featured image courtesy of Juliana Bernstein

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8. Moogfest

Moogfest, the self-prescribed “synthesis of music, art, and technology” is the perfect destination for forward-thinking individuals looking to experience more than a mainstage set at their next festival. By day, the Durham, North Carolina event is a platform for conversation and experimentation. By night, fans can enjoy cutting-edge music in venues throughout the city. Themes range from techno-shamanism to Sci-Fi wishes and Utopian dreams with an eclectic roster of artists to match its unique themes.

7. Electric Forest

Electric Forest is a magical celebration of art, creativity, EDM, and jam bands all under one kaleidoscopic tree canopy. Each June, near 50,000 attendees flock to Sherwood Forest adorned in costumes as vibrant as the landscape for one of the most otherworldly festivals in recent memory. Boasting art installations, trading posts, wacky stages, and activities at every turn, Electric Forest made an immensely respectable decision in expanding from one to two weekends in 2017; preserving the integrity of the festival and keeping its beloved intimacy at an all-time high.

6. CRSSD Fest

CRSSD Festival’s unique programming is an intriguing intersection of both mainstream and underground talents, which continues to propel the San Diego waterfront festival to statewide and international stardom. With a bill that featured acclaimed underground acts like Palms Trax, Hito, and The Black Madonna, as well as the infectious pop melodies of RÜFÜS DU SOL and Chromeo, it’s no surprise that CRSSD Festival has become a favorite among southern-California partygoers and will surely continue to in the future.

5. Dirtybird Campout

Year after year, Dirtybird’s west coast Campout bolsters an invigorating array of artistry amidst its beloved, intimate camp environment, fostering an unparalleled relationship between artist and attendee – or rather, camper and counselor. With the ever-increasing and deserved infatuation with the Dirtybird clan, it should come as no surprise that the campout is expanding to a bi-annual event, flying south to Florida this winter, and while it wouldn’t be entirely out of the ordinary for fans to expect a momentous 2018 from them too, 2017 will be pretty hard to beat. We have faith though.

4. Desert Hearts

The above mantra truly encapsulates Desert Heart’s ethos. Upon entering the intimate festival’s off-the-grid confines, a tangible feeling of connection and friendship immediately presents itself, carrying attendees all the way through 80+ hours of “house, techno, and love.”

Desert Hearts saw astronomical growth in 2017, with an expansive City Hearts tour across the U.S., record-breaking (and capped out) numbers at the festival, and of course, the debut City Hearts festival in LA. That said, the positivity that radiates from the festival’s founding crew remains undiluted — a trait that is increasingly hard to find in today’s festival sphere.

3. Movement

Held in Detroit’s historic Hart Plaza, Movement Festival is a physical manifestation of techno’s birth. The festival’s programming features an amalgamation of underground & globally recognized talent spanning a variety of genres and styles. Last year showcased acclaimed artists like Richie Hawtin, Carl Cox, and The Belleville Three, while simultaneously boasting an ever-expanding plethora of undercards like DVS1, Drumcell, and AX&P; Movement sums up a genre of diverse musical styles in its immensely in-tune booking.

2. Oregon Eclipse

Centered around a rare heavenly phenomenon, Oregon Eclipse stands out from the pack due to its immensely global and collaborative nature. By combining the creative acumen of some of the world’s most innovative music festivals led by Symbiosis, Oregon Eclipse crafted an immersive environment with seemingly boundless opportunities. In a world where success is measured by the number of successful years that a festival can string together, Oregon Eclipse completely embraced its uniquely singular nature.

1. Sonus

Sonus, organized by Time Warp, has become Croatia’s crown jewel of the underground. Thousands of party people from all over the world flood the picturesque island city of Novalja each August for five days and five nights to get their fill of house and techno by the beach, making for a wild week of debauchery and new friendships forged on a dancefloor.

2017 marked its milestone fifth anniversary, with the likes of Sven Väth, Ricardo Villalobos, Seth Troxler, and more joining in on the celebration. If the multitudes of ecstatic faces and caliber sets say anything at all, it’s that Sonus is a destination festival not to miss.

Yup, 2017 was the year of the underground….even though it kinda always is. While Rolling Stone Magazine decided to go full Resident Advisor and release a list of obscure, avant-garde, and borderline unlistenable albums as their annual top electronic albums, we have kept note of some of the best records that few seemed to notice. The

Canadian label Monstercat is ending their year on a decidedly strong note. On Dec. 6, they announced voting was open for their Best of 2017 selection, allowing fans to vote on their top 10 Monstercat tracks of the year and support their favorite artists. Just two days later, voting closed and results were released, unveiling longtime Monstercat artist Pegboard Nerds at the No. 1 spot with their track “Heaven Let Us Down,” which came out at the end of October. Also claiming top spots are Grant with “Are We Still Young,” Tokyo Machine with “Spooky,” MYRNE with “Confessions,” and Kuuro with “Possession.” View the full list of winners below.

It has been some time since we heard from Sir Bob. It has been years in fact. The Bloody Beetroots appear so sporadically I don’t feel that it is a stretch to say that many of us forget that Sir Bob (and the gang) even exist in between releases. When Sir Bob speaks though, we

Halfway through 2017 and it’s been nothing short of a fantastic for dance music. The greatness however lies not with the names that occupy billboards or Vegas LED walls, but rather side stages and underground events that always fly under the radar. Gorillaz long awaited Humanz was a dud, Deadmau5‘s lazy compilation of backcatalogued tunes

Despite copyright complications, advertisements, and couple other points of contention, SoundCloud remains a vital tool for producers and fans alike, both as a means of sharing and discovering new music.

Because the platform is used by nearly all artists in the electronic space, SoundCloud has access to loads of data, and we’re stoked they’ve decided to share some insight on 2016. The infographic below presents SoundClound’s findings in a simple, sleek depiction, showing everything from Top Album, Top Cities Driving Creativity, and the site’s collective Favorite Track amongst other categories.

Perhaps surprising to most of our readers who, we assume, use Soundcloud primarily to listen to and search for electronic music, the strongest genre on the platform is hip hop, securing top album with Chance The Rapper’s album Coloring Book, as well as most followed artist in 2016 with Lil Uzi Vert.

Kado, a website currently in beta dedicated to compiling and recommending tracks based on its users’ unique preferences, has just come out with a comprehensive list of the best and worst tracks, artists, sets, transitions and more for the 2016 calendar year. Dubbed the “Year On The Decks,” the list takes into account over 200,000 DJ sets from the site’s users and setlists found online, “to create a review of the DJ world.”

Out of the 201,300 sets analyzed, Kado found 1,330,772 total tracks played with 2,576,125 transitions made between them. The site looked at each of the most famous DJs in the roster, giving them an originality score based on how often they play the same tracks between sets and how many other DJs are playing those songs.

According to their results, the three most original DJs in 2016 were HernanCattaneo, DaveClark and Noisia. On the other end of the spectrum, the three most “boring” DJs who played the same tracks the most amount of times were none other than DJSnake, YellowClaw and Galantis.

Kado calculated the setlists to find the artists whose original tracks were played out the most by DJs throughout the year, and found – unsurprisingly – that The Chainsmokers, Armin van Buuren, Calvin Harris, Rihanna and Major Lazer were at the top of the list. As far as remixers went, flips from Claptone, Don Diablo, Purple Disco Machine and Tiësto came out on top. Check out the two graphics below to see the rest of the most popular DJs in their respective categories.

Most Played Artists of 2016:

Most Played Remixers of 2016:

As the end-of-year charts have already shown in overwhelming numbers, the top three most played tracks of 2016 were Drake’s “One Dance,” The Chainsmokers and Halsey’s “Closer” and DJ Snake and Justin Bieber’s “Let Me Love You.” The most played remixes were Riva Star’s edit of Groove Armada’s “Superstylin’,” Seeb’s remix of Mike Posner’s “I Took A Pill In Ibiza,” and Julian Juweil’s remix of Dubfire and Oliver Huntemann’s “Fuego.”

Perhaps the most interesting finding by Kado was the most played transition of the year. According to data strictly found through published setlists of touring DJs, the transition between Chocolate Puma’s “Listen To The Talk” and Firebeatz and Schella’s “Dat Disco Swindle” was performed by the most DJs in 2016, specifically Benny Benassi, Hardwell, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike and Pandaboyz.

Finally, Kado broke down the genres most played throughout the year. As a series of pie charts indicates, electro house and trance saw the biggest decline from 2015, with progressive house, deep house, hip hop and drum and bass seeing the most significant rises.

As the final weeks of the year come to a close, everyone’s “Best of 2016” lists are beginning to pour out in gallons. Diplo, being the host of internationally acclaimed BBC 1 radio program Diplo and Friends, is no different. This week, he decided to forego the “and Friends” part of his usual broadcast, instead creating a mix himself chock full of his favorite tracks from 2016.

During the two hours of energetic and unique beats, Diplo was sure to include work from his own side project Major Lazer as well as loads of material from his label mates at Mad Decent. From hip hop and reggaeton to electro and future bass, all corners of the dance music spectrum and beyond are represented in spades.

Listen to Diplo’s favorite songs of 2016 below, and check further down for the complete tracklist.

Artwork by Isabella Bersellini

A lot of ink has been spilled over what a terrible year 2016 has been, and that pessimism runs deep and infects everything. With the onslaught of death, division and desolation — especially at the end of the year — even the most mundane tasks take on an air of nihilism. So we walked into the list making process wondering, would we even make it to 30 albums? After so many years of incredible music did we finally reach the drought that infected so much else this year. Turns out, there’s still hope.

2016 didn’t have much, but what it did have was exceptional art. It’s a year that began with a moving David Bowie opus that’s full meaning didn’t take shape until weeks later, when he left us with a gaping hole. It’s a year where some of the best selling albums were also some of the most sonically interesting, and fittingly, it was a year full of moving and cathartic music. 2016 may have given us deaths of icons and the rise of a tyrant, but it also gave us works of empathy and pathos.

We tried our best to do justice to the incredible music that was created this year, and we know that some favorites didn’t made the list. For us, these 30 records brought some much needed sweetness to our ears — they were the ones that we hit replay on over and over, sometimes to the point of utter exhaustion. Take a look below, and let us know your favorites in the comments.

24. Danny Brown – Atrocity Exhibition

23. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – The Skeleton Tree

22. Parquet Courts – Human Performance

21. Japanese Breakfast – Psychopomp

20. Frank Ocean – Blonde

19. James Blake – The Colour in Anything

18. A Tribe Called Quest – We Got it from Here… Thank You 4 Your Service

17. Andy Shauf – The Party

16. Radiohead – A Moon Shaped Pool

15. Nicolas Jaar – Sirens

14. Beyonce – Lemonade

13. Bon Iver – 22, A Million

12. Drake – Views

11. How to Dress Well – Care

Care is a completely captivating record. It’s captivating because it’s gorgeous through and through, weaving lush tapestries of sound so dense it often feels like you can touch them. It’s captivating because there are so many ideas on display that sometimes they seem like they’re fighting each other to get out. Mostly, it’s captivating because it’s a record with a unique and singular point of view — it’s art that has something to say. It’s stands out because it’s something that no one else could have made, in no other time. It’s a work of a particular, clear voice.

We get caught up sometimes in championing construction and perfection, so we forget to celebrate the beautiful mess — Care is a stunning mess. Not everything works, but even the things that fall flat are more sincere and fascinating than just about anything else. It’s a rare work that actually, really tries. Audacity like that should be rewarded. — HannahAngst

10. Whitney – Light Upon the Lake

Rarely do I come across something as genuinely likeable and instantly listenable as Whitney’s debut. Chock full of feel good riffs and breezy melodies, the songs inhale deeply from the classic rock era, but breathe out something with an entirely new flavor. The music is an amalgam of that period, piecing together enough brightly-lit pieces that the stunning whole seems conjured from scratch. The lo-fi vocals, easy lead guitar and lovely acoustic strums never fail to amaze and unwind.

Feel-goodery aside, I don’t mean to imply that Light Upon the Lake is an easy throwback without depth. Good vibes are definitely seeping out of most tracks, particularly songs like “No Matter Where We Go,” but these are intelligent songs constructed to stand the test of time. This album will feel as relevant and enjoyable decades from today as it does right now. — Lauren McKinney

9. Mitski – Puberty 2

Mitski’s newest release, coming just a year after her last acclaimed LP Bury Me at Makeout Creek, is a kind of coming-of-age for the artist. Carrying one of the strongest voices in indie rock, her songs remain genuine and contemplative — her insightful lyricism more powerful than ever. Don’t be fooled by the title of opening song “Happy” — throughout the album, Mitski explores an inexplicable discontent, contemplating the injustices of life and love. “Your Best American Girl” is a rousing standout, an anthem of self-acceptance that’s sure to strike a chord with listeners. While many of her lyrics deal with the struggle of identity, Mitski seems completely at ease in the role of a solo artist, and her electrifying presence ties Puberty 2 together through its layered depths. — Sarah Hojsak

8. Flume – Skin

Flume’s second studio album is an eclectic mélange that ricocheted between skittish synths, siren-like whooshes, and long, lush crescendos that break into lyric-less segments of chopped-up beats. He demonstrates more than ever his ability to float between his own distinctive, other-wordly sound and the mainstream pop/dance/electronic trend that artists like The Chainsmokers, Lost Kings, DJ Snake seem to have mastered. The difference with Flume is that with Skin, he managed to hold onto a certain idiosyncrasy that many artists like him have completely abandoned. The throaty refrains of alt-pop female artists like Tove Lo, Aluna Francis, Kai, and Kučka cut easily into his own decisively electronic mixes, which range from heavy, apocalyptic bass to uplifting chord sequences. — Danielle Cohen

7. Blood Orange – Freetown Sound

On it’s face, Freetown Sound is an immaculately produced alt-pop gem that has funk to spare. But that’s not what makes the record great, what makes it great is the fact that in addition to being an incredibly dancable modern opus, it’s a meditiation on the many facets of Dev Hynes‘ and the identity issues that he and countless others grapple with daily. It’s a record that leaves enough space for duets with Empress Of and Debbie Harry as well as poetry from Ashlee Haze and readings from Ta-Nehisi Coates. Like many of the other best records of the year, Freetown Sound is an expression of the individual that made it – a unique and booming voice rising above everything else. — Hannah Angst

6. Frankie Cosmos – Next Thing

Frankie Cosmos specializes in evoking a great deal of feeling with little ornamentation and zero pretension. She illuminates everyday things, turning them sacred with her sincerity and candor. The melodies on Next Thing stick after just one listen lending to gratuitous repeat plays, each one feeling a lot like having dinner with an old friend who actually listens. — Charity Painter

5. Kyle Morton – What Will Destroy You

Few albums this year hit me as deep this year as the debut solo release by Kyle Morton. As a big fan of his releases as Typhoon, I was ecstatic to find out Morton was releasing a solo effort, not to mention one that captured me from first listen and failed to grow old even as I played it to death. Evoking thoughts of early Bright Eyes with its emotive lyrics and dynamic instrumentals, What Will Destroy You is as complete a record as I heard in 2016. It doesn’t have a standout single for the most part but plays beautifully as a whole album from start to finish. While there really are endless aspects of this album that resonated with me, it was the vulnerability that Morton exudes with his quivering vocals and honest lyrics that shook me the most. This might be one of the albums on this list you might not have expected or seen on other publications so make sure you give it a proper listen and hopefully you’ll fall in love. –Eric Weiner

4. Angel Olsen – My Woman

The “My” in My Woman is not about possession — it’s about self-proclamation and affirmation. This is Angel Olsen’s attempt at showing the world who she really is, even if she doesn’t quite have it all figured out yet. You may have liked Olsen better when she was a “folk singer,” but that was only ever one facet of an increasingly complex artist. My Woman may not be Olsen’s final answer to those wondering what exactly her sound is, but it is a beautiful exploration. The song styles change, but each shift feels appropriate to whatever plane she’s exploring at the time. “Shut Up Kiss Me” is the most assertive lyrically, paired perfectly with garage rock reverb and brash vocal delivery. But the album’s shining moments are the ones that find her continuing to question who she is and where she’s going, like the blues rock lament “Woman,” or the soaring, exploratory ’70s rock anthem “Sister,” which captures a sound that pairs perfectly with Olsen’s repeated lament, “All my life I thought I’d change.” If this album is any indication, Olsen will continue to change, and we’ll gladly join her on the journey. — Jenny Gumbert

3. Chance the Rapper – Coloring Book

Coloring Book, summed up, is a modern masterpiece of musical dynamics — balancing moments of subtlety with elements of perfect bombast, punchy beats with waves of electronic pulses, highly-emotive tunes with obvious party anthems. Chance the Rapper never rests comfortably within a particular soundscape, instead allowing each song to stand comfortably on its own. Still, there’s a unifying thread of joy that stitches these disparate sounds together — a sense of possibility, purpose and elation that seems to permeate the album. Perfectly stated, and of course more broadly meant, he says: “I don’t make songs for free, I make them for freedom.”

Each track is also anchored by his perfect verses, woven together so deliberately and smoothly, they’re delivered with the ease of an exhale. Coloring Book feels like the result of creative collaboration and manifestation done right — an explosion of frenetic energy and pure expression that was collected and served for our listening pleasure.

2. Big Thief – Masterpiece

For a debut album, Big Thief’sMasterpiece is an incredibly rich listening experience — and an unexpected one. The Brooklyn four-piece seemingly came out of nowhere this year, and have been capturing hearts ever since. Masterpiece is scattered with moments both fragile and robust, from the energetic title track to the beautifully delicate “Paul,” anchored through and through by lead singer Adrianne Lenker’s stirring vocals. Despite its overall polished production, interspersed homemade-sounding elements like the sparsely acoustic opener “Little Arrow” and the spoken word recording on “Interstate” add an approachable element to Big Thief’s sound. Even the album’s slightly tongue-in-cheek title isn’t that far from reality – Masterpiece is really just that. – Sarah Hojsak

1. David Bowie – ★

“I’m not saying David Bowie was holding together the fabric of the universe but *gestures broadly at everything*” So stated a popular meme following David Bowie’s death on Jan. 10, 2016. Those words continued to circulate as what was already a trying year became more and more hard to bear. Such a statement seems ridiculous at face value, but when you consider all that Bowie accomplished during his time on earth and how much he meant to those whose lives he touched through his music, it seems genuinely possible. The triumphant Blackstar felt like the beginning of Bowie’s late-career renaissance, but any hopes for more of his truly unique perspective were cruelly torn away. The album starts with the tragic dystopian epic “Blackstar,” but ends with something verging on hope on the shimmering “I Can’t Give Everything Away.” The lyrics speak of uncertainty and weariness, but the instrumentation is light and lilting. Perhaps Bowie, ever the wise one, was foretelling the dark, ambiguous times that lie ahead, and reminding us that at end of it all there is still light to be seen. — Jenny Gumbert